A permanent plaque is placed at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre for students and visitors. A book display will always be displayed at the Queen’s University campus between Grant Hall and Ontario Hall.

“I think it’s fantastic and to have this as a permanent display at Queen’s University for the generations to come, it will be inspirational,” said Marc Dignam, head of engineering and physics at Queen’s University.

The idea for the research project of Neutrinos was sparked by a professor at Queen’s in 1984 and then taken over by McDonald in 1989. Ever since then, McDonald has lived in Kingston, working on his research.

“The vision was to do significant research on how our universe has evolved,” says McDonald.

It involved taking particles called Neutrino from the sun and observing them for nine years to see how the sun burns. The research led to changes in our understanding of the laws of physics.

Colleagues say McDonald is an inspiration to the science community.

“I think it’s a testament to what can be achieved as Professor McDonald said when people work together,” says Dignam.